


A working relationship

by Lumarmalade



Category: Berena - Fandom, Buckle - Fandom, Holby City
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-21 14:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9552314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumarmalade/pseuds/Lumarmalade
Summary: Edward shows up on the ward, trying to mess with Serena. Bernie's having none of it.





	1. Chapter 1

Serena Campbell sighed a great exhalation of relief and exhaustion, peeling off her surgical gloves, mask and cap at the end of a particularly gruelling bowel resection. It had been a long day: Bernie was on Keller, Raf was off sick, and Jasmine was rather noticeably hungover. 

Making her way slowly back onto the ward, Serena suddenly stopped in her tracks. A familiar profile caught her eye. A man, standing a little closer than absolutely necessary, talking animatedly to Morven. The latter was nervously laughing, shuffling notes in front of her chest. Both of them looked up as Serena approached.  
"Hello, Satan," Serena growled. Edward took a casual step out of Morven's personal space, and leant forward over the desk of the nurses' station, smirking.  
"Serena, sweetheart. I was just catching up with Doctor Digby here, getting a few updates..."  
Morven looked mortified, but Serena's steely glare did not move from Edward's cocky face.  
"She tells me," Edward continued, "you're quite the item with your co-lead here? Bernie, is it? Some army bloke with a death wish?"  
Serena felt heat rising in her face, but her expression remained steady.  
"My personal life is none of your business, thank you very much." She did not feel that this was the moment to correct Edward on Bernie's gender - he looked smug enough as it was. Morven chose this moment to make her explanations.  
"Doctor Campbell is here as a locum for three weeks. Mr Griffin went to let you know, but he must have missed you."  
"Thank you Doctor Digby, don't you have patients to see?" Serena's voice was harsh but her eyes were sympathetic. She turned back to Edward as Morven scuttled away.  
"Now, if you don't mind, I'm off home. Try not to embroil yourself in a sexual harassment suit before I get back."

 

"Just... don't let him get inside your head, is all I'm saying. Once he's in, it's hard to shake him off again."  
Bernie nodded. She could tell how on-edge Edward had already made Serena feel, and he didn't even know about Bernie yet - well, not really. She squeezed Serena's hand, then released as they entered the hospital.  
"I've just got to see Hanssen, then I'll be right back down to AAU. Edward will probably be late anyway - irresponsible bastard." Serena gave Bernie a farewell glance, then hurried off to the lift. Bernie offered a sympathetic smile in response, then turned the other way towards AAU.

Sweeping into their office, Bernie was momentarily taken aback when she noticed a balding, smirking figure already sat reclining in Serena's desk chair.  
"Um. Hello," she stammered in surprise, "Ms Wolfe, trauma surgeon - what are you doing in here?"  
Edward Campbell watched her closely, his eyes tracking up and down her slender form.  
"Hello there," he leered, making Bernie's skin crawl. "Don't mind me, I'm just waiting for my ex-wife. Wondering if I'll meet the mysterious co-lead sometime this morning..."  
Bernie bristled. She could see why Serena hated this man so much.  
"That would be me. And if you don't mind, you're in my office."  
Edward took a moment to process, then shook his head condescendingly.  
"You must be mistaken. I'm talking about some army medic called Bernard or something - Serena's new bit of fluff. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if she's already eaten him up and had him replaced - are you new here?"  
Bernie glared at Edward with a withering smirk. She held out her hand to shake his.  
"Major Berenice Griselda Wolfe: ex-army. Currently co-lead and partner to Ms Serena Wendy Campbell. In fact, I would even go so far as to say she's eaten me up, but no plans for a replacement any time soon. Now, if you don't mind, I would like my office back. If you need to see Ms Campbell, I suggest you book a time with her P.A."


	2. Chapter 2

Twenty minutes later, when Serena made her way down to the ward, she moved straight to Bernie's side as the blonde finished examining a young woman with glass in her leg.  
"Did he arrive yet? Have you seen him?"   
Bernie turned to answer but both of them were cut off by Edward draping his arms loosely over each of their shoulders.  
"Serena, why did you never tell me you had a thing for blondes? We have so much more in common than I thought!" Sensing Bernie's tensed muscles, he withdrew his arm before she had a chance to physically remove it, but remained reclined across Serena's seething form.   
The brunette turned and gave him an icy stare, which made Bernie shudder to witness, although Edward only blinked and stepped slowly back, hands up in surrender.  
"You and I, Edward, have less in common than a lion and a slug," Serena retaliated, her voice low and dangerous, "and I would rather bathe in an entire sea of slugs than ever have to touch you again, so if you don't mind, Bernie and I have a job to be getting on with."  
Serena turned back towards the nurses' station, closely followed by an awestruck Bernie. Jasmine and Morven fought to pick up some patient notes from the desk in front of them, in a desperate attempt to appear as though they had not been eavesdropping. Serena saw right through their charade.  
"Girls, if you want my advice, don't ever listen to a man who-"  
"Don't ever listen to a man." Bernie corrected her slyly, her eyes twinkling with mirth. Serena glared lovingly back at her.  
"Not what I was about to say, but do you know what? If you stick around, I might just follow that advice..."  
"I'm going nowhere," Bernie winked, kissing her chastely on the cheek as she sidled past on her way to another patient. Jasmine and Morven grinned at each other, and Edward stood alone at the side of the ward, for the moment completely forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edward has a plan. At the moment I'm not entirely sure what his motivation is but rest assured he's probably bankrupt or lonely like he was in the show.   
> CW: bi-erasure (Edward's a dick and Bernie's having a moment of stupid, but only because I want to rant about it later)

For the next few hours, AAU ran as normal. Bernie operated on the girl with glass in her leg, Serena showed Jasmine a complicated vein graft technique, and Edward largely minded his own business. He observed the coordinated dance of ward rounds and surgery performed by Serena and her new partner, saw the comfort each woman took in looking across the ward and locking eyes with one another. He noticed the quiet smiles of the junior doctors and the nurses as they, too, perceived their co-leads' subtle but irrefutable intimacy. As for the surgeons in question, they were blissfully unaware of this scrutiny. Despite Edward's presence, both had been able to mostly ignore him all day, and were quite happily getting on with their jobs. Serena knew that whatever Edward said or did, she could look over at Bernie and everything would be OK. Edward had no power over her any more.

 

Half way thorough the afternoon, Edward finally made his move. He had witnessed Serena's ability to draw comfort from her connection to Bernie, but he was not a novice. The cunning anaesthetist had been getting what he wanted from people for as long as he could remember, and he knew exactly how to pick the weakest spot, and tear people apart.

"Bernie... Ms Wolfe," he began politely, shutting the staffroom door gently behind him. Bernie looked up from her coffee, regarding him with wary eyes.

"I wanted to apologise for earlier. It was a shock, that's all. I crossed the line." His earnest expression softened Bernie's resolve slightly, and she nodded her acceptance of his apology.

Edward sighed.

"Serena was always so hard to pin down, even her mother used to say so. In the end, work always had to come first." Bernie had not heard much about Serena's relationship with her mother, but she was unsurprised to hear that Adrienne had been a critic of her daughter.

"Still," Edward continued, "After all that, it turns out she was a lesbian all along! All those boyfriends, our marriage even... You'd never have guessed, based on her-" he paused for effect. "Enthusiasm..."

He winked at Bernie, whose face betrayed her disgust at his open discussion of Serena's intimate activities in such a public place. Edward continued, unaffected.

"She never had any problems in _that_ department, but I dare say if she was a lesbian the whole time, that might be why she could never hold down a relationship. It was always so hard to get inside her head, to see what she was thinking." Edward sighed again, then waited until Bernie's eyes met his, to deliver the final punch.

"I suppose now she's with you, that's not a problem any more. Plus... I bet the sex is out of this world."

He slapped Bernie heartily on the back and grinned as he exited the room, leaving her to reflect on his words.

 

 

Despite the relative intimacy of their relationship, Bernie and Serena had not actually had sex yet. Sure, they had kissed - a lot. Not the hands-free kind of kissing either. The only thing was, neither of them had so far had the balls (pardon the pun) to take it any further. Bernie was desperately trying not to push Serena into anything she wasn't ready for, while Serena was desperately hoping that Bernie would make the first move, and show her how it all worked. As a result, they had reached a sexual plateau around second base, and neither woman had yet come up with a way to bring up the subject in conversation.

Bernie made her way back onto the ward and paused as her eyes searched for a flash of Serena's bright orange shirt. Staring at her co-lead's unwitting smile as she talked to a patient, Bernie heard Edward's words echo in her mind. She began to wonder, to worry - what if Serena wasn't a lesbian after all? By all accounts she had always enjoyed sex with men. She had even slept with Robbie while Bernie had been in Ukraine. Yet, she had shown no sign of wanting to take that step with Bernie.

The sound of Serena's tinkling laugh broke through her train of thought, and Bernie shook herself. She knew relationships weren't all about sex - she didn't need it if Serena wasn't interested in going that far. They had a connection; something far more precious than the companionable isolation described by Edward. Bernie wouldn't trade what they had for the world.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Watching Edward and Serena in series 16, I always saw him as her one weakness. She hates herself for it but she always falls for his manipulative charm. I couldn't really write this without showing that side of their relationship, but I promise it'll all work out in the end for Berena.

Serena spent the rest of the day with a strange sense that she was being watched. Edward seemed always to be turning away when her gaze caught him, while Bernie's previously comforting eyes seemed more scrutinous than before, like she was trying to figure something out. It was only a flicker though, and each time, Serena almost thought she had imagined it. Finally, she sidled up behind Bernie while she was checking some patient notes, and put on her most disapproving voice.  
"Have I got something on my face, Ms Wolfe?"  
"Wh- what?" Bernie's eyes were wide, giving her the endearing appearance of a rabbit in headlights.  
"You keep... looking at me," Serena explained.   
"Well, who wouldn't be?" Bernie drawled, gesturing at random with both hands, "You're a very captivating woman, Fräulein..."  
Serena smiled and rolled her eyes at the affectionate nickname, but her suspicions were not allayed.  
"You haven't been talking to Edward, have you? Because-"  
"No." Bernie shook her head. "It's nothing, I promise." She tapped the clipboard she was holding as if to remind herself, then drifted off towards the patient in question.

Unfortunately for Bernie, Serena had become quite adept at reading her non-verbal signals (in the absence of verbal ones) and was now quite convinced that Edward had said something to get inside her head. Marching into theatre to operate on a bowel obstruction, she glared at the smirking anaesthetist and was immediately satisfied as to the accuracy of her assumption.  
"How's things with Bernie?" was Edward's opening gambit.  
"What did you say to her?" Serena demanded, holding the scalpel steady as she made the first incision. Edward looked hurt.  
"What? Serena, darling, I haven't told her anything! Nothing at all! I mean, we talked a little I suppose. I congratulated her on taming the shrew, as it were."  
Serena raised a solitary eyebrow in warning, but kept her eyes fixed to the patient on the table in front of her.  
"You know what I mean," Edward deferred. "She was fine about it anyway - thinks the sun shines out of your ass. Doesn't know what she's got herself in for, if you ask me, but-"  
"I don't recall ever asking you, Edward. Swabs, please." Serena attempted to refocus on the matter at hand. Edward gently reached out and touched Serena's extended hand consolingly.  
"She seems really nice, Serena. She doesn't deserve... Try not to push this one away."

Serena withdrew her hand from his touch and they completed the rest of the surgery in silence. Edward couldn't know about Kiev, couldn't be aware how close she had already come to losing Bernie forever. She cursed him for knowing her so well, but then he always had, hadn't he? That was how he had managed to get inside her head so well in the past. Could he be right about this too? What if Serena really was pushing Bernie away; being too needy, too busy, too much. Maybe that was why Bernie had been staring earlier, trying to figure out the best way to break things off before it all got too much like it did with Edward, with Robbie... 

Serena left the registrar to close up and exited the operating theatre without looking back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penultimate chapter... Bernie's been listening to Edward - didn't somebody warn her about that??

Once again, Bernie had been over-thinking. There were so many things she loved about Serena, and she had just about managed to pinpoint the most fundamental source of this feeling.  
It had originated in sideways glances, pricked eyebrows, little jokes she felt were intended just for her. The way Serena's arm felt across her shoulders when she was having a bad day. The shared bottle of Shiraz at Albie's after a shift. Working together, knowing exactly what one-another were thinking. It all came down to this.  
Bernie knew that things were the same for Serena. Their relationship had always been so balanced; so equal. It was only Bernie's sexual outbursts which had necessitated any shift in an altogether otherwise perfect status quo. Thinking regretfully back to Edward's remarks, she persuaded herself that Serena would be happier if they could turn back the page and return to that perfect, idyllic friendship. That way, she wouldn't lose Bernie - she would never lose Bernie again - but she could still date men, who could give her what she needed in a sexual relationship. Bernie cringed at the thought, but she shoved her feelings down. The whole situation was her own fault, and it was up to her to fix it.

"Serena," came a soft, husky voice from within the consultants' office at the end of the shift. Serena drifted drowsily into the doorway and gazed at her beautiful girlfriend (the word was growing on her daily). One glance at the mess of blonde curls and far-too-long limbs softened her inside and out, and she felt the worries inflicted by Edward falling away like a veil. Bernie had none of the flaws of her previous suitors - they had always somehow seen themselves as her superiors, she as their doting possession. Even Robbie, who she had really rather liked, had been happy to research her family as though he owned them, and was allowing her access to their existence. She knew in her bones that Bernie was different. Bernie, who had run away rather than force herself upon her. Bernie, who had given her every chance to say no, who had followed her lead at every step beyond the first leap of faith. This was a relationship of equals, and she was determined to see it through. If she had the chance...  
"Sit down for a minute." Bernie gestured to Serena's chair, heart thudding in her chest as she drew herself up and poised to break it into a thousand pieces. The ultimate self-destruct, she thought to herself.  
"I think... our relationship..." she began tentatively. Serena drew closer in her chair, concern etched all over her face.  
"I feel like I've been pushing you - pushing 'us' into a place where... well it was so wonderful before I - before we - when I kissed you, and I feel like I've put you in a position where you thought it had to be this or nothing." Soft gestures accentuated Bernie's feeble attempts to communicate the full extent of her feelings. Her large, wet eyes sought Serena's, then quickly resumed their close inspection of the floor.  
"But it doesn't," she continued. "I want you to know I'll always be your friend, even if you want to go on dates with men like Robbie, or even men like Edward. Nothing you do will change our friendship, I promise."

Serena almost wanted to be angry; was on the edge of distraught, but the overriding emotion she felt, looking at the shrunken replica of the Bernie Wolfe she had walked into work with that morning, was sympathy.

"Why on Earth would I want to go on dates with men like Robbie? I won't even dignify the 'Edward' part of that sentence..."  
"Well you..." Bernie stuttered, "You fancy men - you always have-"  
"I've always fancied women, too; I just never knew what it meant before you came along."  
Bernie looked up abruptly, confused. Serena was exasperated.  
"Bisexuality is a real thing, you know?! I'd have thought, Berenice Wolfe, that you of all people would know that! What do you even talk about in your little rendezvous with Doctor Copeland, if you've never even considered that?"

Bernie felt herself exhale a huge sigh of relief - one that she hadn't realised she had been holding in. Raising her eyes once again to meet Serena's incredulous stare, she felt a rush of love consume her like a wave, starting in her stomach and flushing her skin from head to toe.  
"I've been worrying about this all day," she confessed. "What sort of muppet must I look like right now?" She barked out a nervous "Hah!" of laughter, and Serena's expression broke into a wide smile.  
"I'm thinking Animal, based on the messy hair, but don't worry. I'm sure you can make it up to me." Serena's eyes were sparkling now.  
"Animal?! No way, I'm Janice in appearance and Fozzy bear in character. You've clearly not thought this through!"

Serena took a deep breath to steady herself, small tears of laughter beading at the corners of her eyes. She reached affectionately across the desk to hold Bernie's outstretched hand, playing thoughtlessly with her long fingers as she mentally connected the dots.  
"This was Edward's doing, wasn't it." Bernie nodded meekly.  
"Well then, my dear soldier, in the interests of revenge and justice, I'm going to have to enlist you in a little psychological warfare of our own..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie and Serena execute their evil scheme...   
> CW: mild hetero action (AAAAH sorry for that); some blackmail

Edward was in the middle of a delightful story about the time Serena, on holiday in Cornwall, had nearly fallen off a cliff in pursuit of a fly-away hat, when Bernie sidled up to him and gave the captivated nurses a look that had them scattered across the ward within seconds. He managed not to look too surprised despite the complete silence of Bernie’s approaching footsteps, and turned slowly to face her.  
“Ah, Ms Wolfe! Everything OK? I heard a rumour that you and Serena had broken up, that's such a shame!"  
Bernie tucked a stray strand of hair behind her right ear, and spoke in a low voice which required Edward to lean in close in order to hear.  
“Doctor Campbell, I believe… you may have been right about Serena. In fact,” she looked at him with wide, dark eyes, “She’s not the only one who’s been kidding themselves.”  
Her eyes hungrily tracked down Edward’s body, while gentle fingers smoothed across his chest. Then, with a wink so subtle he almost thought he’d imagined it, she was gone.

Edward’s plan from the very beginning had centred on the re-acquisition of Serena’s affections, and by extension her material support at a time when he could really use the economic back-up. However, since Bernie probably earned a similar amount, there was no real reason why he might not adjust his agenda to include the look on Serena’s face when he ran off with her mid-life crisis of a ‘girlfriend’. Edward grinned to himself at the thought. This was all working out better than he could have hoped.

The next day, when Edward got to work, there was a fresh cup of coffee and a muffin left on the worktop in the staff room with his name on them. The following day, Bernie turned up to work in a little black dress, and stared at Edward as if daring him to take her, right then and there. For the entire week she drew his gaze in a variety of subtle ways – then finally as they scrubbed out of theatre together that Saturday, Bernie whispered suddenly in Edward’s ear. The proximity of her lips to his skin made him quiver, and her voice was an almost inaudible verbal smoulder.  
“There’s a very comfortable store cupboard outside AAU… Who knows what sort of mischief could go on in a place like that…”  
Edward’s jaw dropped and he turned sharply to witness the scandalously seductive glint in Bernie’s eyes as she turned off the tap and left the room, hips swaying, the unspoken invitation to follow echoing in the air.

Bernie was already waiting in the cupboard when Edward cautiously opened the door, squinting to see her in the darkness. They gravitated towards each other and Edward found himself pinned against the closed door, Bernie’s hot lips making their way down his jaw to his pulse point…  
“Take off your scrubs,” she growled authoritatively. Edward Campbell had been married to Serena – he was no stranger to doing what he was told in the bedroom – and he showcased the same skill now. His hands played with the hem of Bernie’s top as he stood before her in only his Y-fronts, but she took a step backwards and turned on the light to better observe her conquest.

All of a sudden, the cupboard door flung open and Edward jumped to grab his discarded scrubs only to find them completely out of reach, obviously kicked mistakenly under the shelving in a moment of passion. During his panic, Bernie had sidled around and was now standing in the open doorway, side by side with-  
“Serena! It’s not what it looks like… Bernie and I were just-”  
“Just what, Edward?” Serena’s voice was sickly sweet.  
“Well, I got the impression that you two were no longer – and she-” Edward sighed. He could tell he was not going to be able to explain this one away. Instead, he drew himself up to his full height, disregarding his disrobed state, and smirked at his ex-wife.  
“Your delightful ex-girlfriend was just showing me a thing or two about passion,” he sneered, winking conspiratorial at Bernie.  
Both women now adopted expressions of shock and innocent bemusement.  
“My ex-girlfriend?” Serena asked incredulously. “Edward, you know quite well that Bernie here is my first female partner, and she and I are still very much together!”  
It was Edward’s turn to look shocked now, as the women held each other’s hands and looked for all the world as though neither of them had a clue what he was talking about.  
“Well, then I’m sorry Serena but no less than two minutes ago, your current girlfriend was preparing to have sex with your ex-husband in this very store cupboard.”  
“Good lord Edward, Bernie wouldn’t do that! I might be bisexual, but she’s about as gay as they come.” Bernie’s face was the personification of ‘can’t argue with that,’ as she shrugged and continued to show no sign of her earlier behaviour. Serena, at this point, was on a roll.  
“- but Edward, I’m quite concerned about your professional conduct in this situation. Not only have you been staring wantonly at Ms Wolfe all week, but you have just been discovered in your underwear, launching what would appear to be a fully blown sexual assault on a senior member of staff! I can’t imagine what Mr Hanssen will have to say about this when he finds out. And as for your professional record…”  
Luckily, Edward could tell when he had been defeated.  
“Listen, Serena – Ms Campbell. I’ll go to Mr Hanssen myself today. I’ll tell him I’m moving on; you’ll never see me again. I’ll get out of your hair, I promise.”  
“Right. Well you’d better find your clothes and then head straight on up there now, don’t you think?”  
Edward ducked once again to rummage about on the floor for his scrubs, then slipped them on and squeezed out of the cupboard past the steadfast pair in the doorway, who had grown tired of glaring at him and now only had eyes for each other.

Bernie pursed her lips and shot Serena a sly smile.  
“Ms Campbell, I must say I’m rather impressed.”  
“I defer to you, Ms Wolfe,” Serena returned, “I couldn’t have done anything without you.”  
“I can’t think what on Earth you mean…”  
Serena raised an expressive eyebrow and lowered her voice.  
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I heard a rumour that you were going to be having sex in this very comfortable store cupboard… Care to make it come true?”  
“Only if you care to join me,” Bernie responded, swinging their still clasped hands coyly. “It’s just, I’ve heard a couple of reviews and I’m anticipating great things.”  
“You haven’t heard the half of it…”

The cupboard door closed heavily behind them, and somewhere in Holby City hospital Edward Campbell unconsciously won a no-stakes bet against Bernie Wolfe*.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edward made a throwaway comment earlier on: "Plus, I bet the sex is out of this world!" Sooo.... yeah. Sorry I have no smut-writing ability, you're all going to have to use your imaginations on this occasion :(


End file.
